Dessert Stand

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Emma Smith

EmmaSmith_1This little buddy is one of my newer pieces – a collection I call “Western Merriment”. This series is a group of objects that delight the everyday with whimsy, wonder and joy. This specific piece is a dessert stand for those days when you are feeling blue, and all you need is a lovely wood-fired porcelain object to eat your tasty morsels off of.

Who wants to eat a lovely cupcake off a regular old plate anyway?

By the way, this guy (or gal) is off to Philadelphia next week to be in a miniatures show called Small Favors. (note the lack of a “u” fellow Canadians?)

Pretty stoked, I am. Let’s hope this Timmy has a safe journey. Fingers crossed.

 

 

Filed under: ceramics, fixed hearts, real live art, Tangible art | 1 Comment »

Atmospheric Firings

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Emma Smith

I’ve been taking advantage of Sheridan’s resources this fall, and making lots and lots of pots! I have been working with SEVEN different types of clay at FOUR different temperatures and using a variety of firing techniques. Some of my most recent work has been high-fire, using stoneware and porcelain in gas, salt and wood fired kilns. Here are some of my favourites:

Glacialsmall

Glacier
Wood fired porcelain saucer
6″x4″

Click for hi-res

Wood firing is a very physical firing technique. Not only do you have to cut and split all the wood, but a 24-hour firing requires a lot of man hours to stoke the fire all through the night. This plate was one of only 5 pieces that I got into this winter’s wood firing. After the new year, I’ll be spear heading my own firing to get more pieces out!

Lagoonsmall

Lagoon
Salt fired stoneware boat
12″x4″

Click for hi-res

LagoonTopsmall

Top view
Click for hi-res

LagoonUndersidesmall

Underside
Click for hi-res

Salt firing is a truly awesome firing process. Using a special gas fired kiln, we dump rails of rock salt into the kiln, alongside the pots during the last temperature increase of the firing. The salt vapours attack the silica in the clay body and glazes, leaving an “orange peel” effect, lots of flashing and beautiful colours!

Terrestrialsmall

Terrestrial
Salt fired stoneware boat
12″ x 4″

Click for hi-res

TerrestrialUndersidesmall

Underside
Click for hi-res

Filed under: ceramics, Tangible art | 2 Comments »

It’s been a while

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Emma Smith

It’s been a long time since my last post, so in the spirit of getting my hands back into clay, I thought I would post another of my atmospheric cups. I will be working on a whole line of “atmospheric dishes” this upcoming year. It’s always a good refresher for me to look at old work – so here it is for you to enjoy as well (:

Click for hi-res.

Filed under: ceramics, Tangible art | 4 Comments »

Tetramino

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Emma Smith

Image

ImageFor my final work at Sheridan this year, I installed a collection of 3 Tetraminoes on which 16 cups were displayed. They were used to value the vessels as works of art as well as encourage the public to interact with them. “Choose your own cup, there will be one that speaks to you more than another”.

With this work, I wanted the public to start a relationship with the objects in their life, including cups. How does it feel to live WITH your life, rather than solely in it? These cups and display were an exploration of the social aspects of dining and domesticity – what does it mean to be consuming a product and what sort of experience are you partaking in, when using a specific object to aid in your consumption? What objects push us away and which ones intrigue us to hold out our hands and touch? What do you want to put your lips on and what is beautiful, but too peculiar to experience fully?

In the future, I will hopefully make collections of Tetraminoes for customers to “play” with in their own homes; being able to rearrange them, having multiple experiences with each object and contemplate the multiple purposes of a seemingly functional piece.

Click the images for high-res

Filed under: ceramics, real live art, Tangible art | 2 Comments »

Atmospheric Cup

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Emma Smith

This is one of many “atmospheric cups” that I have been working on as of late.

An important aspect of artmaking for me are process marks. In making functional vessels, I want the user to see the hands of the maker at work with the clay. I try to reflect the soft material that fired ware was once made from – clay is a moldable material, good for smearing and forming. In the work that I have been recently doing, I have been keeping the marks of process and hands on the piece, using them to enhance the aesthetic and the value of the vessel.

This cup was handbuilt using a press-mold and was then trimmed on the wheel. It was decorated with slip and underglazes, then had images defined using sgraffito techniques. It was bisque fired, covered in a glaze coat and then fired again.

The clay used is a terracotta red earthenware to cone 04.

Filed under: ceramics | 3 Comments »

Bowl

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Emma Smith

Thrown and altered Cone 10 Stoneware

Salt fired in a reduction atmosphere

Filed under: ceramics | 4 Comments »

The God of Clay

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Emma Smith

This is the God of Clay. I hand built him my first week into my Ceramics program using a Raku clay. The Raku kiln, however, went on the fritz and so I had to fire him in the electric kiln. He is glazed with both charcoal and ruby underglaze sponged on, as well as some “Licorice”.

I like him (:

 

 

Filed under: ceramics | 1 Comment »

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